Next Monday.. The start of the AFC U-23 Cup in Qatar 2024 – Al-Bilad newspaper

Al Bilad – Jeddah
16 teams from across the continent come together this month to compete for glory in the 2024 AFC U-23 Cup in Qatar, taking place from April 15 to May 3.

Two months after the conclusion of the 2023 Asian Cup finals in Qatar, the West Asian country will once again be the focus of the continent’s attention. This is when it becomes the first country to twice host the AFC U-23 Cup finals, having hosted the tournament in 2016.

Moreover, seats for the Paris 2024 Olympics will be available to the top three finishers, with an additional opportunity for the fourth-placed team to play in a play-off match against Guinea (representing the Confederation of African Football) on May 9 in Paris.

Different teams won each of the previous five editions (Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan), and all of them are looking for a repeat victory.

In addition to this quintet, only two other teams, Australia and Jordan, participated in each edition of the tournament, while Indonesia is the only team participating for the first time this year.

The qualifiers, which were held last September, reduced the number of teams consisting of 41 teams to 15 teams, which joined the automatically qualified host country (Qatar). The qualified teams were divided into four groups during the final draw for the tournament, which was held in November.

The first match in the 2024 AFC U-23 Cup in Qatar will start at 4:00 pm on April 15 at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha between the duo of Group A (Australia and Jordan).

After being absent from the first edition of 2013, Qatar is participating in this tournament for the fifth time in a row. The hosts will receive the Indonesian team in the second match in Group A, at 6:30 pm at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

The exciting competition continues the next day (April 16) when competitors from groups two and three take to the field.

At Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium at 4:00 pm, Japan, the winner of the 2016 title, will play with China for the first time.

The second confrontation in Group Two will bring together the Republic of Korea and the UAE at 6:30 pm at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Also at 6:30 pm, the third group competitions will begin, when the Iraqi and Thai teams will meet at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.

Saudi Arabia, which became the first team in the history of this tournament to lift the cup without conceding a goal in 2022, will then begin the journey to defend its title at 9:00 pm at Khalifa International Stadium, facing Tajikistan.

The fourth group matches will start on April 17 at 4:00 pm, with Uzbekistan playing against Malaysia at Khalifa International Stadium.

The first round matches will conclude at 6:30 pm, with Vietnam meeting Kuwait at Al Janoub Stadium.